Young Guendouzi let his manager down

IT is incredibly disappointing to see Arsenal players inhaling ‘hippy crack’. Above all else, Premier League players are role models and this type of behaviour is simply unacceptable.

The players were said to be at a ‘wild champagne and vodka party’ days before the start of the season. It could have been a team-bonding night and of course footballers need some downtime, but this was taking it too far.

Given the fitness levels required to compete in our physically demanding league, it is unfathomable that a modern player would behave in this way.

I would expect Arsenal manager Unai Emery to tear into everyone involved but he may come down hardest on Matteo Guendouzi. It will disappoint Emery that one of his promising young stars appeared to pass out after inhaling the gas.

This is a 19-year-old Frenchman who, at that time, was yet to kick a ball in English football.

I know how difficult it can be for a young player breaking into the first team. You want to show that you are one of the lads and this could well have been his first night out with his new team-mates.

Guendouzi may have been egged on but Emery must feel he needs to keep a lid on this young man’s behaviour. As for the senior players, they should definitely know better.

There will be calls for Emery (right) to drop players, but why should he when those who were not involved have to suffer?

I am sure there will be an internal inquiry and Emery will demand absolute honesty. He will want to know exactly when all of this took place and whether anything like it has happened since. When I was a player in the early Nineties, there was a drinking culture at Arsenal. But as soon as Arsene Wenger arrived as manager, the boozy nights out disappeared. He brought in specialists to explain the negative effects of alcohol on the body. Now, Emery may feel it is time to educate a new generation of Arsenal players. The hunger and fitness shown by his team in recent weeks suggests this was an isolated incident. And you cannot question the performances of many of those involved, such as Guendouzi and strike duo Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

But it is certain that Emery will feel let down and he is a manager who is not afraid to make big calls and leave out star names.

It is up to these Arsenal players to earn his trust all over again.

Emery will leave them in no doubt that there will be severe consequences should this happen again.

Ultimately, he must not let this derail all the good work he has done so far this season on a 20-game unbeaten run.

Emery will find a way for the group to emerge from this even stronger.